Micron and Hynix gain ground in NAND market

Toshiba, Samsung cut production

Smaller NAND Flash players are expected to continue to gain ground on Samsung and Toshiba after the two giants cut production due to oversupply worries.

With the NAND total revenues falling sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2011, Toshiba and Samsung saw their dominance in the market weakened at the hands of Micron and Hynix.

Samsung saw its revenues drop 4.6 percent from the third quarter, while Toshiba fell 12.3 percent. The market as a whole dropped 2.8 percent.

However, Hynix grew 5.4 percent and Micron grew 11.7 percent over the quarter. Powerchip saw the most remarkable revenue increase of 116.7 percent. This meant that while Samsung is still the dominant force in the market, overall the playing field had been levelled somewhat.

Micron and Hynix managed to perform well by avoiding any production problems in the fourth quarter, keeping output high - which iSuppli believes will allow the two to keep gaining ground throughout the year.

All firms performed well over the course of the year as NAND flash continues its rise in popularity.